Thread guide



July 12, 1949.

' R- E. SHIPMAN THREAD GUIDE Filed May 1, 1947 Patented July 12, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE THREAD GUIDE Raldo E. Shipman, Sunbury, Pa. Application May 1, 1947, Serial No. 745,279

H posed of two parts, namely, a thread engaging element, made of a hard, Wear-resisting alloy,

and a holder for such element, made of sheet metal or plastic, the thread engaging element being removably mounted in the holder, so that it may be readily replaced and renewed.

A still further object of the invention is to so design the thread engaging element that it may be successfully produced from metal strip by cut ting and die-forming operations.

Among the advantages of the invention is the fact that my improved metal thread guide may be produced in quantity more cheaply than theconventional porcelain article, and the fact that, by properly selecting the material from which the holder is constructed, the thread guide, as a whole, can be made lighter than its porcelain prototype.

In order that the invention may be readily understood reference is had to the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification, and in which Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the usual traverse bar showing my improved thread guide mounted thereon;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation thereof, showing a fragment of thread in position in the guide;

Fig. 3 is a transverse section substantially on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1., looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 4 is an inverted plan view of the thread guide itself, without the traverse bar;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view on an enlarged scale showing the two parts of my improved guide as they appear when separated, and

Fig. 6 is a vertical transverse section through the upper part of the thread engaging element shown in Fig. 5.

Referring to the drawing in detail, th usual traverse bar is shown at A in Fig. 1, having at its upper side the customary converging faces a, b, and a longitudinally extending groove at the ridge or intersection of these faces. This groove is for the reception of the usual wire retainer, hereinafter more particularly referred to.

My improved thread guide comprises two parts, namely, a thread engaging element, and a holder Claims. (Cl. 242157) in which this element is removably mounted. The holder is designated in its entiret by the reference numeral I and is shown as formed of sheet material. This may be ordinary soft steel, stainless steel, aluminum or other suitable metal or plastic. By using a thin sheet and making the holder of light material such as aluminum or plastic, the weight of the device may be reduced to a minimum.

The holder comprises a pair of upwardly convergingwalls 2 and 3 having at their upper meeting edge a longitudinal groove la,

The lower edges of the walls 2 and 3 are provided with inturned lugs or feet 4 and 5 which are disposed at such an angle as to fit and seat upon upper faces a, b of the traverse bar, clearly shown in Fig. 2.

The usual wire retainer is shown at 6 in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. As is the customary practice, the wire retainer is bent or folded upon itself to form a V-shaped portion 1 adapted to fit into an opening in the traverse bar, While the free ends 8 of the retainer extend upwardly and engage the groove la in the upper side of the holder. As is well understood, this wire retainer is of a springy na-- ture so that its ends bear resiliently on the holder and retain it in position on the traverse bar.

A transversely extending notch 9 is formed in the upper portion of the holder, this merging with openings 10 formed in each wall 2 and 3 thereof. Inwardly bent lugs or tongues II and I2 project from the side edges of the openings Ill, as clearly shown in the drawing, these being for the purpose of positioning the removable thread engaging element or insert.

This insert is made of some hard, wear-re sisting alloy such for example as that known under the trade name of Nitralloy steel. It is shown as consisting of a piece of metal 53, U- shaped in cross section so as to provide a groove l4 having a rounded flange I5 at each edge thereof.

The element or insert as a whole is of inverted V-shape as clearly shown in Fig. 5, and its ends are preferably beveled off as indicated at It so as to conform with the shape of the upper surface of the traverse bar. This thread engaging element or insert is introduced into the holder from the bottom and pushed up into position between the pairs of lugs H and H, as best shown in Fig. 4, so that it is frictionally held in place. When thus mounted, it presents the appearance shown in Fig. 1, in which the groove M at the apex thereof registers with the notch 9 in the holder.

The thread, of course, runs in the groove I4, as indicated at a: in Fig. 2 and is guided laterally by the rounded flanges l5.

The thread engaging element or insert I3 is preferably produced by cutting sections from a suitable strip of metal and subjecting these sections to a pressing or die-forming operation so as to produce the desired shape as shown in Fig. 5. In the case of Nitralloy this forming operation has to be done cold because of the nature of the material. Other suitable alloys, may of course be used.

While I have shown and described my improved holder as formed of sheet material, it may also be formed from plastic material by molding. Ido not intend to limit myself tothe exact details of construction shown, the only requirement being that the holder must be hollow in order to receive and retain the thread engageing element or insert, and it must be shaped at its lower side to fit and seat upon the traverse bar, and provided at its upper side with a transverse notch or opening registering with the groove in the insert.

What I claim is:

l. A thread guide for textile machines comprisin a hollow holder shaped to seat upon the usual traverse bar, said holder having a transverse opening therethrough, and a thread engaging element formed of a V-shaped strip U-shaped in cross-section, and made of wear resisting material, enclosed Within said holder and registering with said opening.

2. A thread guide for textile machines comprising a hollow holder formed of sheet material and shaped at its lower side to seat upon the usual traverse bar, said holder having a transverse notch formed in its upper side, and a thread engaging element of hard material insertable in said holder from the lower side thereof and having in its upper face a thread-receiving groove registering with said notch.

3. A thread guide for textile machines comprising a hollow holder formed of sheet material and having a pair of upwardly converging walls, the lower side of said holder being shaped to seat upon the usual traverse bar, and the upper side having a transverse notch extending through both walls, and a thread-engaging insert mounted in said holder, said insert comprising a metal piece of inverted V-shape conforming with the converging walls of said holder and having at its apex a groove registering with said notch.

l. A thread guide for textile machines comprising a hollow holder formed of sheet material and having a pair of upwardly converging Walls, the lower side of said holder being shaped to seat upon the usual traverse bar, and said holder having registering openings formed in both walls, the sides of said openings having inwardly bent pairs of lugs, and a thread-engaging element of inverted V-shape mounted in said holder with its legs positioned between said respective pairs of lugs.

5. A thread guide comprising athread engaging element formed of a V-shaped piece of hard metal alloy, said element being U-shaped in crosssection, thus providing a thread receiving groove at its apex, and a hollow holder in which said element is inserted, said holder being constructed to seat upon the usual traverse bar.

RALDO' E. SI-HPMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following referenlces'are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES ,PATEN TS Number Name Date 137,417 Campbell Apr. 1, 1873 1,330,534 Hertel et a1. Feb. 10, 1920 1,522,721 Houghton' Jan. 13, 1925 1,740,311 Mitchell Dec. 17, 1929 1,749,940 I-Ioughton Mar. 11, 1930 2,171,826 Durafiourg Sept. 5, 1939 

